subject: Expense Tracking And The Right Investments In Your Business [print this page] When you start a small business you have to make a lot of difficult decisions about where to invest your limited funds. You do not want to look at expense tracking after six months and see that you put money into things that went nowhere. So you focus on online bookkeeping, streamlining your process, and reaching out to customers. One type of investment that might elude a lot of new businesses is going to big events like trade shows and training seminars. Parking fees and attendance costs don't look too effective in budgeting software. But aside from creating opportunities to sell to customers or develop new skills and perspectives, they are vital for networking and marketing, which is especially important for a new and upcoming company to get that great idea off the ground.
According to experts, trade shows offer at least three distinct and important values for small businesses. First, you obviously get to introduce yourself and your product to new customers. Getting exposure is key to growth, and early on catching the right potential buyer's eye can be a big gain. Second, you can meet potential partners and build relationships. You'll get "sold to" some, but you may also meet someone who can help you make your product for less or access new markets more efficiently. And finally, it gives you insight into your market and other competitors at your level. That extra familiarity can help you improve your product and refocus your message to better appeal to potential customers and separate yourself from similar companies.
Whether you actually have a booth and a presentation or just attend, walk around, talk to people, and network, it's being active at these events that matters. And these are even more helpful for single-proprietor businesses, because the owner's personality is often the soul of the business, so getting this exposure and making these connections can lead to dramatic leaps forward in success. This is the kind of small financial investment that won't even look that big during expense tracking but can have a big payoff.
Investing in your company can be difficult. There are a lot of choices. When working on week-to-week expense tracking and budgeting, you can forget about these kind of investment opportunities unless someone presents them to you. But being active in the area and the market is a great way to get essentially free exposure and marketing.
